


Lights Out

by imback_shady



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: AlphaTauri, Alternative Universe - 2020 Season, Daddy Issues, Drama, Family Issues, Feminism, Misogyny, Red Bull Racing, Rivalry, Rookie Year, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23323333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imback_shady/pseuds/imback_shady
Summary: Their conversation seemed to end entirely too soon for Cade’s liking as the FIA director, Michael Masi, entered the room and took his seat at the front of the room, chatter effectively quieting down quickly. “Gentlemen and lady,” Oh god, here we go. ”, before we begin, I’d first just like to welcome you all back, and specifically I’d like to welcome Nicholas Latifi and Cadence Easton to the Formula One family.”Where Latifi isn't the only rookie on grid for the 2020 season.
Comments: 25
Kudos: 40





	1. pre-season - new york city, new york

**Author's Note:**

> oRiGiNaL tItLe- i know, shut up
> 
> covid-19 has really put a dampen on the 2020 season. and by a dampen i mean it's created a flood and washed away the entire first half of the f1 season. my sad soul must now resort to making up my own f1 season, one with even more drama and chaos and a new face as well.
> 
> everyone say hello to cadence easton and follow her through her first season in formula one. i promise i will try my best not to mary sue her, cause that's no fun anyways.
> 
> MIND YOU, not all events or facts will be accurate to how things are actually done - cause that requires too much research and while i have PLENTY of time on my hands, i would appreciate not spending it doing research. but if there are serious plot holes, let me know and i'll try to fix them. or may be i won't.

Cadence really should have been watching ESPN right now seeing as _she_ was the headlining story, but for once in her life she was listening to the wise words of her manager.

**“** I know you want to watch it, I get it, but this is something that needs to be handled _carefully_ and _correctly_ . **”** She recalled Evan saying as he began lecturing her over the phone. **“** I know how you like to tweet things that would make my grandmother roll in her grave, but we can’t have that right now. All eyes are on _you_ seeing as you’re the first female _AND_ American driver to be signed to a Formula 1 team in _years_ . It is crucial that we get this right not only for Redbull and Alphatauri, but also for ourselves, yeah? I’ll watch it so you don’t have to and I’ll call you right after with a synopsis of the entire segment and we can go from there. That also means no Twitter or social media, you hear? **”**

Of course she agreed with him cause, damn, he was right, but every couple of minutes she couldn’t help but eye her phone and TV remote, debating which was the lesser of two evils. She somehow managed to distract herself with cleaning and packing and before she knew it she was diving to pick up her phone as she heard Evan’s ringtone, calling out to her. The _Imperial March_ was a fitting tune for him.

**“** So? **”** Cade quickly greeted him, not bothering with any pleasantries. Her heart was beating at what felt like a thousand beats per minute, so loud that she was afraid Evan could hear it over the phone. **“** Do you want the good or the bad news first? **”** Evan began, and Cade’s stomach began to sink. This was not sounding good at all.

**“** Just give it to me straight Evan; do they hate me? **”** Cade asked. The question seemed childish, but she herself was still only a teenager at 19. People’s opinions mattered to her, especially when it came to the thing she loved the most; racing.

**“** Would I say they hate you? No. Would I say they love you? Not really, no. **”** Evan replied and Cade couldn’t hold back her groan. **“** They honestly didn’t know what to think of you. Most of the conversation centered around Alphatauri’s decision to sign you over other drivers. **”**

**“** So they _do_ hate me. **”** Cadence replied dully. She should have seen this coming. Her teammate Nyck de Vries and F2 rival Nicholas Latifi had beat her out by only a handful of points each, leaving her in third place at the end of the season. Why had AlphaTauri chosen to sign _her_ to their team over those two? What did they see that everyone else seemingly couldn’t?

**“** They do not hate you, they simply just don’t know you. **”** Evan countered, and Cade reluctantly hummed in agreement. **“** Stop your pity party, I didn’t even tell you the good news yet. **”** Her manager did always know how to cheer her up and Cade perked up once again.

**“** The majority of the other F1 drivers and teams have put out statements welcoming you. I know most of them are just for formalities sake but honestly, a few of them even sounded sincere.” He said cheerfully, his smile very apparent by how he talked. Cade couldn’t help herself anymore, and switching the call to speakerphone she quickly went to Twitter to investigate.

Thank god she’d always chosen to turn her notifications off or else her phone would be broken judging from the influx of messages, follows and tweets that were being thrown in her direction. It was overwhelming to say the least, but she’d take time to go through at least _some_ of them later. For now she was on a mission. Cade was fully intending on searching up every team and driver's name, but when she saw her name trending in the search tab, she was confident that she’d find the majority of their tweets collected there.

**“** You didn’t tell me my name was trending in Twitter. **”** Cade said to Evan as she clicked on her name. **“** Wait, you are? **”** Evan responded back and it seemed he was just as unaware of the development as she was. **“** _Holy shit_ , you are. **”** Cade giggled before settling back into her seat on the couch as she began scrolling.

Below the tweet was a picture of Cade in her now _old_ ART racing suit, the words _'Welcome Cade Easton!'_ written in bold font. With a smile, Cade liked the tweet and scrolled to the next.

A link to a small article on her was added in a reply below, all the information in it short and sweet. It was clean and concise, just simple facts about Cadence. There would have been more, but both Evan, her and the team had agreed to keep it simple for now for they'd expand on it later for other promotional material. Cade decided to craft a quick tweet of her own to make a response.

**“** I suggest you… nevermind. **”** Evan has spoken up just as Cade had hit send on her tweet, having been thinking the same thing as her. **“** Does it sound good? **”** Cade asked. **“** It’s... okay. Sounds like you, especially with the hashtags. Isn't that a _Cars_ quote? **”** Evan replied and Cadence laugh because, _yes_ , it was. Of course he’d want something that sounded ‘cleaner’ but Cade didn’t care much that now. She was just happy to see the positive feedback. Or at least on the surface it was positive. Boy, did she regret venturing further into the replies.

**Finn** @trooper33 • 14m

WHERE’S @kyvatoffical?? You’re gonna replace him with her???

**stephen** @_CROSSFIRE • 14m

imagine being nicholas latifi as seeing this lol

**Dan** @v_cado • 13m

There’s a reason women aren’t seen racing in F1. She’ll be gone soon like the rest!!!

**King** 👑 @layupjames23 • 11m

watch her screw over pierre and move to redbull. probably a total snake of a teammate 🐍🐍🐍

**“** You’ve gone silent, I know you’re reading the comments. Stop it. **”** Evan’s voice suddenly snapped her out of her trance that was filled with hateful words. Of course, the hateful tweets were few compared to the kind ones, but they always seemed weigh heavier. They were all her eyes could gravitate towards.

**“** Sorry… **”** She mumbled, going back to the main page so see what else drivers and teams were saying. Peirre had written a kind message welcoming her and she made sure to like, retweet, and reply to it. Cade didn’t really know Peirre, but then again she didn't know many of the other drivers either. Sure, she grew up racing against the likes of George, Lando and even Max and Charles, but she’d always felt like an outsider at the track. Then again, in hingsight she knew that had nothing to do with her or them, but with her father. She was glad he was no longer in the picture to constantly hound her about what she should be doing and how she should act, who she could and couldn't talk to. Evan was much better at doing that, much kinder.

At the end of her scrolling, Cade had seen welcoming tweets from Alex, Max and the Red Bull team, along with Lando and Mclaren and even some kind words from Lewis and Mercedes. Everyone else either had generic tweets or didn’t acknowledge the news at all. Either way, she was left with a smile on her face as she closed out of twitter, the few bad comments completely out of mind.

**“** I’ve already got some messages from people wanting to set up interviews, but I’m going to get in touch with your press officer at AlphaTauri first to see where we want to go from here. We’ll have made some decisions by the time you get over here. **”** He said, Evan unintentionally reminding Cade that she still had to finish packing. She’d be leaving in the morning to join Evan in Italy at AlphaTauri’s headquarters for the next week to iron out details for the upcoming season. She was excited, but her nerves were already starting to bubble up. Cade hadn’t even gotten to race yet and she was already feeling the pressure to perform weighing heavy on her shoulders.

**“** I do get a say on who I get an interview with, right? **”** Cade asked, already having a list made in her head. **“** Of course you do. Now go finish packing, I know you aren’t finished. **”** He said, signaling the end of their phone conversation. From the faint sound of typing in the background, he had already gotten the work sending out emails.

 **“** Fine, see you in 24 hours. **”** Cadence said before the two shared goodbyes and she hung up. Sighing, she once again sat back, sinking into her couch and letting her pillows engulf her. She spent the next few minutes just trying to process what had just gone down within the last half an hour. She was officially in F1. Well, she’d already signed her contract a few weeks ago, but now it was official; the whole racing world knew. The feeling was indescribable, and while she knew there were plenty of people rooting for her downfall, she couldn’t wait to prove them all wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> liked it? hates it? either way, please leave your thoughts below.  
> wanna see something mentioned? suggest it and i'll try and add it in.


	2. thursday & friday - melbourne, australia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why do I feel like the new kid at school who’s entering the cafeteria for the first time and has no idea where they’re going to sit?” Cade asked honestly, her analogy showing her young and naive age. Lucas couldn’t help but wrap his arm protectively around his drivers’ shoulders, giving her a side hug as they walked into the air conditioned building. “You’ll be fine, you’ve got me. Anyways, this isn’t high school any more.”
> 
> “No, this feels worse.” She joked back, though her tone still wavered and Lucas squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, a few things i want to say
> 
> 1st - thank you to everyone who's found this story interesting enough like like and read, i really appreciate it.  
> 2nd - cadence will NOT be paired with anyone on grid. i am 90% set on this, so the only way this will change is if there is an overwhelming request for a pairing.  
> 3rd - once more i must preface, the events in this story are not 100% accurate to how things actually happen. i'm pretty sure cadence would have gotten to know a lot of the drivers long before the first driver's briefing on the season, but i wanted to make some tension in the story and also i think i'd be pretty boring if she already knew and got along with all the drivers, yeah?
> 
> okay, i think that's everything i wanted to say. if i forgot anything, i'll mention in either the comments or in next chapters notes. cheers!

**“** Peirre I think we should get an award just for being best dressed on grid. **”** Cade joked with her teammate as she zipped up her suit, being careful not to get her hair caught in the zipper. She’d have to put it up after they were finished with the little media photoshoot they were scheduled to be at in 10 minutes.

**“** If only we got points for looking good. **”** Peirre joked back as he finished gathering his things. His helmet was held in one hand while his sunglasses sat perched on his forehead. His suit still sat hanging around his waist, waiting to be zipped up. Cade really wished she could do the same, but she’d rather not make a fool out of herself in front of everyone. She’d suffer through the heat for now.

**“** If we got points for looks then Lewis would finally have a challenger for the championship thanks to _Charles Leclerc_. **”** Cade said Charles’s name in a mock french accent as she slipped on her own pair of sunglasses and followed after Peirre, her own helmet in hand as well as they made their way out towards the exit into the paddock.

**“** What, you got a thing for Leclerc? **”** Peirre asked, his tone a bit teasing. _Of course_ , Peirre and Charles were close friends, how could Cade forget? She really needed to learn to watch her mouth around people.

**“** Please, **”** Cade began with a scoff, **“** I have standards. **”** She said jokingly before shaking her heading and deciding to seriously answer Peirre’s question just to be safe. **“** No, he’s very sweet and charming but definitely not my type. I was referring to the fact that man’s done fucking _runway_ shows. He’s practically a _model_. **”** Cade said, whispering a small thanks to Peirre as he held the door open for her, the hot air hitting them both like a freight train going at full speed. **“** I’d also like to avoid dating someone who I’m racing against. People would see it as a conflict of interests. **”** With a nod from Pierre, Cade was confident he’d understood her. She didn’t judge the man to be one to gossip, but she’s really like the comment not to get out for fear it’d turn all the attention away from her racing and towards her personal life.

**“** You do realize we have to do a runway show when we get to Monaco as well, right? **”** Peirre said, and Cade couldn’t contain her groan which caused Peirre to laugh. Of course they had to, AlphaTauri was a clothing brand for christ sake, not to mention that all stops were pulled out when it came to Monaco. **“** Why’d you have to remind me? **”** Cadence whined as the two drivers finally reached their awaiting entourage.

**“** What are you complaining about now, Easton? **”** Evan asked her with a teasing tone and Cade couldn’t help but retaliate with a little shoulder bump. Not too hard, of course. **“** When doesn’t she complain? **”** Peirre commented, sending everyone into a fit of laughter, and while Cade tried to pretend that she was at least a bit hurt, she couldn’t help but laugh along.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

If you were to ask why Cadence was so nervous right now, she’d be reluctant to give you a solid answer, because frankly, she didn’t have an answer. She’d been to several drivers’ briefings before in her career. She knew how they worked: sometimes they could get serious, other times they were pretty laid back. Hell, some even made her feel like she was Jim in the middle of an episode of _The Office_. Either way she shouldn’t be nervous, right?

Or maybe she was nervous because she was walking into a room full of drivers she admired with the likes of Kimi, Sebastian and Lewis among others. Or maybe it was the fact she hadn't talked to some of the others in ages. What did they think of her?

**“** How are you doing, kid? **”** She heard her engineer, Lucas, asked, effectively pulling her from her spiraling thoughts. Their group of four which consisted of herself, Pierre and their two engineers were making their way to the conference room which held the usual Friday night briefing. Practice had felt good, her car had felt good, but she’d still rather be in debriefing, discussing strategy for tomorrow’s qualifying than stuck in a room with 19 other drivers and their engineers. It only made it worse that the group was running a bit behind and they would probably be the last people to show up.

**“** Why do I feel like the new kid at school who’s entering the cafeteria for the first time and has no idea where they’re going to sit? **”** Cade asked honestly, her analogy showing her young and naive age. Lucas couldn’t help but wrap his arm protectively around his drivers’ shoulders, giving her a side hug as they walked into the air conditioned building. **“** You’ll be fine, you’ve got me. Anyways, this isn’t high school any more. **”**

**“** No, this feels worse. **"** She joked back, though her tone still wavered and Lucas squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before letting go. While she still had yet to really connect with her engineer, Cade felt comfortable around the man. Hell, he’d already introduced her to one of his kids, who just so happened to be a fan of hers, so she couldn’t help but start to view Lucas as family.

Lucas tried his best to keep Cade distracted as the pair dropped back, letting Pierre take the lead with his engineer as they entered the conference room, but Cade couldn’t help but go silent, feeling her heart leapt to the back of her throat as she stepped into the room.

To her relief, no one really seemed to notice their entrance, all of the other drivers fully concentrated on catching up with one another. The only ones who seemed out of place were Kimi and Nicholas, both keeping to themselves. Though it seemed Kimi was purposefully keeping to himself while Nick looked just as out of place as Cade felt. 

**“** Excuse me. I think you’re in my seat. **”** She spoke up as she approached her old rival, causing Nicholas to startle in his seat. Turning to face her, Nick’s frightened look quickly changed to a bright smile as he stood up from his seat, the pair clasping hands before sharing a quick hug. Now it seemed that the other drivers took notice of the two rookies, but neither rookie seemed to notice as the pair launched into a conversation of their own.

**“** Don’t scare me like that Easton, I nearly shit myself. **”** He said and Cadence tried her best to quiet down her laughter as both her and Lucas settled down next to Nicholas and his engineer.

**“** Well, we wouldn’t want that to see that now would we. **”** Someone else had taken the words right out of her mouth, and she found Lando and Max eavesdropping into the two’s conversation. It was the latter of the drivers who had made the comment.

**“** I don’t know, I think it'd be pretty funny. **”** Lando commented and the two rookies laughed along. **“** It’s good to see you two again. **”** Cadence said, exchanging handshakes with the two drivers before the four of them settled into a peaceful conversation.

Their conversation seemed to end entirely too soon for Cade’s liking as the FIA director, Michael Masi, entered the room and took his seat at the front of the room, everyone effectively quieting down immediately.

**“** Gentlemen and lady, **”** _Oh god, here we go_ , **"** before we begin, I’d first just like to welcome you all back, and specifically I’d like to welcome Nicholas Latifi and Cadence Easton to the Formula One family. **”** And now all eyes were truly on her as most of the room either turned or glanced back at the pair as a short round of welcoming applause commenced. Cade could feel the tips of her ears flush with embarrassment, but all she could do was smile and nod.

Luckily, that was the last time she felt the spotlight on her. Conversation quickly sprung back to the hot button issues of Mercedes’s DAS system and the controversial closed settlement reached between the FIA and Ferrari. Cadence chose to just sit back and let the others duke it out. While she of course had an opinion on both topics, she felt that it wasn’t her place to speak up. Between the drivers of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, and the comments from other teams, enough opinions were being tossed around.

While the briefing had started on an aggressive note, Daniel Ricciardo seemed to swoop in and cool things down as he brought up the issue he faced last year of his front wing flying off after he was forced onto the grass. Laughter returned to the room as Daniel and Michael had a cheerful conversation that yes, the issue had indeed been fixed. With the tension in the room somewhat resolved and with a few closing notes on minor track changes, the meeting was finally adjourned and Cadence felt like she could breathe comfortably once again.

**“** God bless Daniel Ricciardo. **”** Cade said to no one in particular as she slowly got up from her seat and stretched out. **“** If I had to sit through that tension for one minute longer, I would have lost my mind. **”**

**“** I wasn’t even gonna bring up my front wing incident from last year, but I felt similar. You’re welcome, by the way. **”** Daniel’s once distant voice now sounded close as Cade looked up to find the Aussie native standing near her, obviously on his way out when he seemed to have overheard Cade’s mindless muttering. Cadence smirked up to the man before introducing herself and joining him walking out of the conference room together.

**“** Do briefings usually get that intense? **”** Cade asked as the two settled into a comfortable pace, their engineers trailing behind, having a conversation of their own. **“** No, not usually. Sometimes people say shit just to stir the pot, but every once in a while important topics will be brought up and disputed. **”** Ricciardo replied with a shrug, his cocky demeanor dissipating as tiredness seemed to begin to set in. The sun had only just begun to set but Cade could feel it too. The two continued to chat as they walked out of the surprisingly empty paddock together. Their conversation ending up having very little to do with racing and instead turned towards family.

**“** Must be nice to have the first race of the season held in front of a home crowd and with family by your side. **”** Cade had commented after the two had finished stopping for a group of fans who were still hanging around. Most of them wanted something from the Australian, their hometown hero, but a few had asked Cade for a picture and an autograph which she happily agreed to do.

**“** You’d think, but I'm usually quite nervous. I mean, my last race here was less than peachy. **”** Daniel replied with an unpleasant expression on his face. **“** I’d just like to cross over that finish line first. I’ve done it on other tracks, but it’d be nice to do it here. For my country. **”** He finished with a shrug and Cade couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for the man. 

**“** If you want me to I'll take Hamilton and a few others out at turn one. All I ask is that you share some of your winnings with me so that I can pay off all the fines I’ll rackup. **”** Cade joked. Of course, she would never throw a race, not even for a teammate, but if she could try and brighten the Aussie’s mood, it was worth a shot. **“** Yeah, good luck trying to reach the front of the pack from all the way at the back, rookie. **”** Daniel laughed and Cade echoed him, happy to see that she had accomplished her task as a smile returned back onto Ricciardo’s face.

**“** What about you, have any family come with to watch your first race? Your weasel of a manager can’t be the only company you’ve got. **”** Daniel asked, changing the subject. She had to admit, Evan was a bit of a weasel, always poking his nose into things, but it’s what made him such a good manager. It got her opportunities. Now, as for her family…

**“** Uh, that’s a bit complicated. **”** Cadence began with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her neck. She saw Daniel start to speak up, probably about to say something along the lines of _‘you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to’_ , but her family drama was bound to be aired out eventually. She’d rather have it come from her mouth rather than from someone else like her father or a gossip magazine.

**“** If you want a simple answer, my dad’s what you’d call _‘a bit of a cunt’_. Deep down I love my dad, I know I do, but Rick always been a hard ass. Call it _‘tough love’_ , or whatever, but I always felt like I was second best to racing with him. He was almost the reason why I quit the sport. **”** There was something therapeutic about spilling a few of your darkest secrets to someone who you barely even knew. **“** As for my mom, she’s not too bad. We’re kind of reconnecting at the moment and she really doesn’t understand that whole racing thing, but she still supports me nonetheless. She’d probably be here if she could, but work comes first for her at the moment. **”** Cadence finished, feeling a weight suddenly lift off her shoulders for the second time that day. **“** No offense, but your family sounds like shit. **"** Daniel said, as the two came to a stop just outside the hotel that everyone was staying at. **"** And no siblings? **”**

**“** Eh, could be worse. But yeah, no siblings. My _weasel manager_ is all I have for now. **”** Cade said, not realizing in the moment how sad that truly sounded. **“** But, I do have a cousin who’s a really big fan of yours and I promised I’d give him a behind the scenes tour in Austin. You think you could do me a favor then? **”** Cadence asked slyly, turning the attention around and back onto Daniel.

**“** You take out Hamilton on Sunday and you got yourself a deal, Easton. **”** Ricciardo said with a laugh and they shared parting remarks before going their separate ways inside. Cade couldn’t help but smile all the way up to her room, pleased that it seemed like shed just made another friend on the grid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW DO YOU WANNA SEE THE RACE PLAY OUT?  
> RICCIARDO TAKES P1?  
> CADE CRASHES OUT TURN 1?  
> WILLIAMS SCORES POINTS?  
> LEAVE YOUR SUGGESTIONS BELOW!


	3. saturday & sunday - melbourne, australia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Cadence you need to come in. Box now, box now.” Cade was just breaking for turn 14 when she’d gotten the call from Lucas to come in. She wasn’t sure why she was coming in 3 laps early to change onto softs, but she wasn't about to question the decision and obeyed, letting Sainz finally go past her as she entered the pits as fast as she dared before slowing down to the speed limit. She’d been battling with the McLaren for the majority of the race, trading positions every so often. It seemed both cars were evenly matched as she heard that Peirre doing was doing the same with Lando up ahead of her. 
> 
> Despite the late call, the pit crew was ready with her set of softs and just as quickly as she had been called in she was on her way out. “What changed?” Cadence asked simple as she exited the pits and began to pick up speed once again, her car feeling much faster with the fresher and faster compound on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man i hate to turn wtf1 into the main news/gossip outlet for this story, but it's honestly just the easiest thing to do.

**“** Lucas, where am I sitting? **”** Cade asked her engineer, talking quickly before she released her thumb from the radio. She had just left the pits and was now making her way around the track on her out lap, careful to watch for anyone who might be on their hot lap. Cade was nervous she’d come out too early compared to her other competitors, but she have too put some trust in her strategist and team and try her best to make it into Q3. **“** Currently you are P13 with a 22.9. **”** Lucas’s voice crackled through her earbuds and Cadence groaned with annoyance as she now entered sector two, barreling towards three.

For her first race in F1, Cadence should have been pretty pleased with her placement thus far. She’d already out-qualified five other drivers, one of them being the only other rookie on grid, and yet it wasn’t good enough for her. Maybe it was just her ego talking, but she knew the second she messed up, the tabloids were going to be all her. She’d already read a few nasty headlines to start out her morning, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the best idea. Either way, she was determined to prove them all wrong.

Approaching 11 and 12, she took her time to hit each turn correctly. Cade found she was having a hard time getting a good exit on 12, afraid of accelerating too hard and risking running herself too wide off track and into the grass. If there was one thing Cade was going to be sure of, it was that she would _not_ be crashing out before the actual race even began. Cade was determined to pick up _at least_ an extra half a second somewhere. Exiting the final turn and approaching the start of her hot lap, Cadence took a deep breath and said a small prayer before she pushed her car hard and she passed over the line, effectively starting her hot lap.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

**“** You got P11, Pierre just beat you out. **”** That was not the news she had wanted to hear as she was making her way back around on her in lap and Cadence couldn’t help but exhale in disappointment. She really wanted to get into Q3, she really did, but as she pondered for a moment she knew she had a lot to be proud of for getting P11. Hell, for her first F1 race, that was pretty damn good.

**“** Would have loved to get into Q3, but I'm happy with P11. You guys were great and I'm glad to hear Pierre made it through. **”** As his teammate, Cade was genuinely happy for him, but as his opponent she was slightly bitter that he had been the one to push her out. It wasn’t anything she was going to dwell on of course as it was just the name of the game. 

**“** You did good kid, we’re all very pleased with P11. We’ll get them Sunday, but for now just worry about getting back into the pits safely. **”** Lucas responded, and doing as she was told Cadence picked up her pace before pulling in to the front of the AlphaTauri garage, beginning to shut off her car as her crew pushed her back into the garage. Cadence didn’t have to wait long before she was able to fully unbuckle and exit her car, immediately being bombarded with clapping and even a hug from Lucas before she could get her helmet. With a laugh she quickly joined in on the small celebration, her previously soured mood remedied by the excitement from her team. Finally getting her hans, helmet and balaclava off, Cade went around thanking the rest of the team and her crew, sharing plenty of hugs, handshakes and smiles with them before she retired to the back of the paddock to meet up with Evan and her PR officer, Tayla.

**“** For your first F1 qualifying session I’d say that’s pretty good, kid. **”** Evan greeted her first and with a laugh, the two shared a long loving embrace. If Evan were a little older a passerby could have mistaken the embrace as a father daughter moment for that's certainly what it felt like for Cadence. At this point Evan really wasn't her manager anymore, he was more of a father figure that Cade looked to for guidance. 

**“** We’re all very proud of you, Cade. **”** Tayla spoke up, now being the next to share an embrace with the young american driver. Like she’d previously been with Lucas, Cade didn’t know much of Tayla but already felt a connection with the older female. She was strong and loud and the kind of woman Cade had looked up to as a child and strive to be like. And hell, was she jealous of her PR officers undercut hairstyle and flashy tattoos.

**“** Now, let’s go over your qually real quick so you can go get change out of your nasty gear. **”** Tayla said, pulling a phone from her pocket. Apparently most of the teams did this with their drivers, recording their thoughts immediately after driving. It was smart as Cade could recall countless times she’s forgotten to bring up something during a meeting or a request had slipped her mind. It also provided material the team could give to the press so Cade could spend more time doing what she needed instead of being caught up with media interviews. **“** Cadence, you placed P11 in qualifying today. How are you feeling? **”** Tayla asked, sounding just like any other faceless reporter Cadence had already encountered during the weekend.

**“** You know, at first, I was kind of disappointed in myself. I expect a lot out of myself, and going from placing in the top 5 and winning races in Formula 2 to now not being able to make it into Q3 is quite jarring and off putting. But I had to remind myself that this isn’t Formula 2 anymore. The cars, the competition, the pressure; it’s all on a whole n'other level and I need to work up to that and adjust. So, to answer the question, I feel great. I’m happy with today, the team’s happy too so all we can do now is prepare for tomorrow and hopefully find a strategy that will get us into a place to score points. **”**

**#AUSGP2020 GRID LINEUP**

**P1:** Max Verstappen #33 **P2:** Valtteri Bottas #77

 **P3:** Sebastion Vettel #5 **P4:** Charles Leclerc #16

 **P5:** Alexander Albon #23 **P6:** Lewis Hamilton #44 (+ **3** )

 **P7:** Lando Norris #4 **P8:** Daniel Ricciardo #3

 **P9:** Pierre Gasly #10 **P10:** Carlos Sainz #55

 **P11:** Cadence Easton #15 **P12:** Romain Grosjean #8

 **P13:** Kimi Raikkonen #7 **P14:** Kevin Magnussen #20

 **P15:** Estebon Ocon #31 **P16:** George Russell #63

 **P17:** Lance Stroll #18 **P18:** Nicholas Latifi #6

 **P19:** Sergio Perez #11 **P20:** Antonio Giovinazzi #99

»»————- ✦ ————-««

**_LAP 31_ **

**“** Cadence you need to come in. Box now, box now. **”** Cade was just breaking for turn 14 when she’d gotten the call from Lucas to come in. She wasn’t sure why she was coming in 3 laps early to change onto softs, but she wasn't about to question the decision and obeyed, letting Sainz finally go past her as she entered the pits as fast as she dared before slowing down to the speed limit. She’d been battling with the McLaren for the majority of the race, trading positions every so often. It seemed both cars were evenly matched as she heard that Peirre doing was doing the same with Lando up ahead of her. 

Despite the late call, the pit crew was ready with her set of softs and just as quickly as she had been called in she was on her way out. **“** What changed? **”** Cadence asked simple as she exited the pits and began to pick up speed once again, her car feeling much faster with the fresher and faster compound on. 

**“** Verstappen and Leclerc just crashed out at turn 9. The virtual safety car has been deployed while they remove the cars and debris. You should be able to move up a spot or two with other cars pitting, but you’ll have to move fast. **”** Cade was speechless for a moment after hearing the news. She’d been aware that the pair had been battling it out for first, but she didn’t think it end in both cars going off track. Cadence almost couldn’t believe it, but sure enough as the rookie approached turn 9 she could see bright red debris off to the side and just a few seconds later the two cars came clear into view, motionless in the gravel runoff. While she felt sad to see both drivers wouldn't be finishing the race, Cadence quickly help but smile at the fact that she'd just acquired two free places thanks to their tussle. They were her competition after all. Now in P8, Cadence was determined to hold her position as finish the race in the top ten.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

**“** That’s P7 Cadence, P7! Fantastic job out there, you were amazing, kid. This is definitely a race for the history books. **”** Lucas enthusiastically said to Cade through the radio though she barely let the man finish before responding, holding down the radio button and yelling with excitement. **“** YES GUYS, that's what I'm talking about, _WOOHOO_ **!** **”** Even with the limited room in her cockpit, Cade somehow found the room to wiggle around and she stuck her fist in the air, shaking it with excitement. 

**“** Oh my god, now how about _THAT_ for a first race, _ha ha_! **”** Cadence finally said when she was done yelling, though she was still giggling with glee. **“** Holy shit, I’m speechless. I never thought I'd be finishing in the top ten for my first race. Everyone was just so on top of things, the car felt great today: I’m so incredibly thankful. This is all for you guys, thank you, thank you, thank you. **”** With her heart beating a thousand miles per minute Cadence continued to cheer and wave to the crowd as she made her way back around the track to park her car with the other drivers.

**“** What’s the drinking age in Australia, again? I think this calls for a celebration. **”** Cade added cheekily. **“** Yeah, I don’t think so, kid. Only mock-tails for you tonight. **”** It wasn’t Lucas’s voice who responded and instead Evan’s disapproving tone answered her, but from his laughter she knew he was just joking. Hopefully.

Finally pulling her car into the pits and completely shutting it off, Cadence was able to climb out of her car and release all her pent up excitement. From how excited Cadence looked you would have thought she had scored her first podium finish, but to her that's what it felt like. Taking her helmet and balaclava off, she made a beeline for the weigh stations, waving into one of the cameras as she ran by. She had to force herself to hold still on the scales, just barely listening to the official as her told her she was free to go. Running back towards the AlphaTauri garage, she was quickly bombarded with cheering and hugs. Everyone was in a good mood, even Pierre’s side of the garage as the driver took P8 behind Cadence. Everything was starting out well for the AlphaTauri team.

**“** So, what the hell happened with Max and Charles? **”** Cadence asked after everything had calmed down, unzipping her racing suit to cool off. Pierre was now back in the garage and stood beside Cade, the two drivers having shared a congratulatory hug and kind words a few moments prior. **“** They both kind of took each other out. Charles faked to the outside before coming back in just as Max moved to take the inside line. **”** A crew member spoke up, **"** I couldn't tell you who was at fault, but I do know that neither driver looked in the mood to yield to the other. **"**

**“** This isn’t gonna end well.” Pierre spoke up, shaking his head in worry. Cadence offered a sympathetic look. The driver was close with Charles and had previously been a teammate of Max's so Cadence could only imagine how Pierre felt about the entire situation. **“** So with those two out, who won? Mercedes? **”** Cadence asked dully, a part of the group of people who were tired of seeing the team sit on top of the podium week after week. She was hoping this year there’d be a change.

**“** Mr. Daniel Ricciardo finally pulled it off. **”** Evan spoke up pointing to the TV, and Cadence turned to see the Aussie man standing proudly atop the podium, waving his first place trophy in the air. She swore she even saw a glint of tears in his eyes before the champagne began to be sprayed by the two Mercedes drivers. **“** God damn, he actually did it. **”** Cadence commented with a laugh, her mood boosted as she recalled the conversation she had with the Renault driver on Friday. 

**“** Alright Pierre, Cadence, lets go! Media is waiting. **”** The loud voice of the AlphaTauri communication manager, Lawrence, boomed throughout the garage, signaling the end of the little groups gossip session. Quickly grabbing a hat and her glasses from the counter, Cadence quickly followed after Tayla as the two began to walk towards the group of awaiting reporters. Usually quite nervous to talk to the media, Cadence felt excited to flaunt her 7th place finish to the entire world. At that moment she felt unstoppable.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

**#AUSGP2020 Grid Lineup**

**P1:** Daniel Ricciardo #3 (+ **7** ) **P2:** Valtteri Bottas #77

 **P3:** Lewis Hamilton #44 (+ **3** ) **P4:** Sebastian Vettel #5 (- **1** )

 **P5:** Alexander Albon #23 **P6:** Lando Norris #4

 **P7:** Cadence Easton #15 (+ **4** ) **P8:** Pierre Gasly #10 (+ **2** )

 **P9:** Carlos Sainz #55 (+ **1** ) **P10:** Kevin Magnussen #20 (+ **4** )

 **P11:** George Russel #63 (+ **5** ) **P12:** Kimi Raikkonen #7 (+ **1** )

 **P13:** Nicholas Latifi #6 (+ **5** ) **P14:** Sergio Perez #11 (+ **5** )

 **P15:** Romain Grosjean #8 (- **3** ) **P16:** Antonio Giovinazzi #99 (+ **4** )

_**DNF:** Max Verstappen #33 (- **16** ) **DNF:** Charles Leclerc #16 (- **14** )_

_**DNF:** Esteban Ocon #31 (- **4** ) **DNF:** Lance Stroll #18 (- **3** )_

_»»————- ✦ ————-««_

  
**Drivers’ World Championship:**  
  
Daniel Ricciardo: 25

Valtteri Bottas: 18

Lewis Hamilton: 15

Sebastion Vettel: 12

Alexander Albon: 10

Lando Norris: 8

Cadence Easton: 6

Pierre Gasly: 4

Carlos Sainz: 2

Kevin Magnussen: 1

**Constructors’ World Championship:**

Mercedes: 33

Renault: 25

Ferrari: 15

AlphaTauri: 10

Red Bull: 10

McLaren: 10

HAAS: 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few things to touch on!  
> 1- if you're worried about cadence already winning a race in her rookie year *spoiler*, she won't be. honestly, she may not even her first podium. trust me, her doing this well during the first race with play into the story.  
> 2- OF COURSE i had to give daniel a win to start off the season. honestly, he deserves a win at melbourne in real life so maybe through this i can write it into existence.  
> 3- i'm planning on making race qualifications and results a little more random than they are in real life aka mercedes, ferrari and red bull will not always win. it's more of an even playing field here, but those top three teams will still be viewed as "the best".
> 
> if you're wondering how the race went down, here's some highlights:  
> \- lewis originally qualified p3 but got a three place grid penalty for interfering with carlos's hot lap.  
> \- daniel overtakes norris, easton overtakes sainz and latifi dive bombs from P18 to P15, all at turn 1 of lap 1  
> \- esteban makes contact with stroll after stroll overtakes russel, dropping both drivers back to P19. both end up retiring from damage.  
> \- lewis overtakes alex around the same time bottas overtakes verstappen and leclerc overtakes his teammate vettel.  
> \- a battle between verstappen and charles end in both making contact and crashing out at turn 9, deploying a virtual safety car.  
> \- daniel and cadence end up gaining an extra place or two as they are the first cars to pit during the safety car. bottas and lewis encounter some issues during their pit stop (would they actually pit IRL, probably not but deal with it), effectively securing the win for daniel, though it is a battle to the end.


	4. thursday - sakhir, bahrain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Final question for Miss. Easton,” Cadence, while confused by the use of the title, smiled to the man who had spoken up, “There hasn’t been a woman driving in Formula One since 1992. In the past, many have said that it is because women can’t compete on the same level as men. What are your thoughts on this? How are you handling the pressure of being the only female on grid?”

Coming off of last week's stellar performance, Cadence had expected this weekend to go just as well as the last.

Oh, how naive of her.

 **“** Something feels off. **”** Cadence said as she stood next to her engineer, the two staring at the data from the morning practice session. **“** It feels completely different to the car I drove in Melbourne. **”** She grumbled, feeling annoyance and worry building inside her. Whatever adjustments the team had made only seemed to make the car lose progress.

**“** Look, I’ll talk with the team and see what we can do. **”** Lucas began, frantically typing as he spoke. **“** If it still feels just as bad tonight then we’ll revert back to the setup from Melbourne. **”** He finally paused his typing to turn to his driver, his stern features softening into a kind smile.

**"** I promise we’ll get this sorted, but you have a press conference in 30 and Tayla would kick my ass if she found out I was the reason you were late. **”** Cadence had almost forgotten about the press conference, and with a grumble and encouraging shove from Lucas she went to change out of her racing suit and into a much more comfortable get up. Within ten minutes Cadence had managed to apply a bit of makeup and become a walking advertisement for the AlphaTauri clothing brand. Everything besides her shoes, which had been a recent gift from her mother to celebrate her performance in Melbourne, and her sunglasses were from the team. While it was in her contract that she needed to wear the apparel to media events, Cadence didn't mind as everything was quite comfy and she didn’t even have to be paid to say that. A distant yelling from Tayla told her that her time was up, and Cade quickly bolted out to meet her PR officer in the paddock.

**“** I’m here, I’m here. Chill. **”** Cadence said, slipping on her shades and adjusting her snapback to fit over her braided hair. Braids were the only way she could keep her hair in check without ending up with a giant rat's nest by the end of a drive. 

**“** You keep telling me to _chill_ and yet me being _not chill_ is the only reason why you’re ever on time. **”** Tayla shot back, her tone conveying humor whereas her eyes held a much more serious gaze. **“** Practice didn’t go too well? **”** She asked, changing the subject as she noticed the younger woman’s unusual somber mood.

**“** No, not really. Car felt weird; lacked pace and the steering only seemed to get worse overtime. **”** Cadence replied with a shrug, Lucas’s previous optimistic comments not doing much to boost her mood. It was only Thursday and Cadence already felt like she was going to come in last on Sunday's race. 

**“** I’m sure they’ll figure it out, you gotta trust them. **”** Tayla reassured the young driver before stemming into a long winded speech about everything that Cadence should and shouldn’t say during the press conference, but Cade’s mind was elsewhere. What would people think of her if she actually did come in _last_? Would she be called a fraud? An over-hyped driver? She couldn’t let her team down already, that wasn’t an option. Neither was letting herself down.

**“** Cadence are you even listening to me? **”** Tayla saying Cade’s name snapped the young driver out of her thoughts and she turned to face the older woman, the two now coming to a complete stop just outside a building. **“** Maybe? **”** Cadence replied sheepishly, causing her PR to groan as they began moving again, swiping their way in and making their way up a back staircase towards the conference room. **“** Just think before you speak and watch what you say, okay? Don’t let your words get twisted. **”** Tayla advised cautiously, a serious look on her face. Cadence knew very well how things could be twisted and she promised the older women she would do as she was told.

Entering the small waiting room, Cadence realized that she hadn’t even bothered to ask who else was on the panel today. She got a pleasant surprise when she spotted Daniel first and she probably would have walked over to talk with him if he hadn't already seemed to be in deep conversation with Max. Continuing to scan the room, she spotted Charles and Valtteri seated on the other side of the room. Noticing how Max and Charles were say as far away from each other as possible, it seemed the two still hadn’t made up after last week's crash.

**“** Well, this should be interesting. **”** Cadence mumbled as she turned toward Tayla. The woman agreed with a snort, acting as the driver’s personal maid as she held onto Cade’s things, even her phone as Cadence had requested a few pictures be taken during the conference today, both for keepsakes and maybe to post later on Instagram too.

**“** How do I look? **”** Cadence asked poshly after removing her braids. She probably would have kept them in if she hadn’t started to feel a headache forming. Cade came to the conclusion that she must have braided her hair too tightly that morning. **“** Like a model, now break a leg out there. **”** Tayla responded with a laugh and eye roll before leaving to grab a seat, leaving Cadence alone to hang out with the four other drivers.

With Daniel and Max still chatting away just between the two of them, Cadence found she had no other choice than to make a decision between which of the other two drivers she’d step up and make conversation with. Though that decision came very quickly as Charles looked as though he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. Awkwardly approaching the older driver, Cadence couldn’t think of any witty one liners to break the ice. So instead she just stuck to a very vanilla introduction. Luckily, Valtteri seemed delighted to talk, previously looking bored out of his mind, and the conversation quickly turned to friendly banter. Mostly it consisted of Cadence asking questions and Val answering them, but it was an easy way to pass the time. Before they knew it, they were being beckoned into the conference room and all chatter stopped.

There was a quiet mumbling as the drivers walked in and found their assigned seats. Cadence was surprised to see she wasn’t sitting on the far end of the table; instead she was situated on the inside next Charles. It seemed that they wanted to keep Charles and Max far away from each other as the Dutchman was seated on the other side next to Valtteri. Whether it was to ensure that nothing happened or just to play up the drama, Cadence didn’t know.

Looking out into the crowd of reporters, Cadence quickly found Tayla seated at the front next to the PR from the other teams. Cade hadn't even realized how nervous she had been until she'd felt her racing heartbeat begin to slow at the sight of Tayla being so close.

As soon as the drivers settled into their seats, the moderator welcomed everyone to the press conference before launching into questions. Of course, the first one went to Daniel. He was first congratulated on his win in Melbourne before being asked how he was approaching Sunday’s race. Cadence expected she’d be looked over for the majority of the conference and was just about relaxed when she perked up, hearing he name being said just after Daniel had finished his answer.

**“** For Cadence, **”** A woman’s voice began speaking from the right. **“** Last week in Melbourne you finished P7, shocking many including a few of your competitors who are seated up there with you. There have been a variety of reactions, some speculating that you’ll finish on the podium by the end of the year while others are just calling it _‘beginners luck’_. I’m wondering if you could respond and give us your thoughts. Has this kind of attention had any effect on you and your preparation for Sunday’s race? **”**

Cadence was silent for a moment, completely blindsided by the complex question. She really expected to slide through the conference relatively unnoticed, only answering small questions here and there, but in the back of her mind she knew that was never going to be the case; she wouldn’t be that lucky this time around. **“** That’s a great question. **”** She began, tucking her hair firmly behind her ears, a nervous tick. **“** I guess that shows how little I read my news feed, I hadn’t realized there were so many opinions about my race in Melbourne. **”** Of course, there was a good reason why she didn’t read them as she always found a good portion of things being said about her to be less than positive.

Her comment had gotten a little chuckle out of the room, and once it quieted down she launched into her answer. **“** Well, it’s great to hear that people have faith in me and my abilities, that’s very encouraging and I am thankful for that. For those calling it beginner’s luck, I feel that luck has a very small role in what I do. My team and strategist are really the ones to thank for such a good race result, they were just on top of everything and without them I wouldn’t have had such a great finish.” Glancing over at Tayla, she got a sly thumbs up and nod to continue.

**“** At this point I’m still trying to get used to the attention, for sure, but nothing’s changed. Everyone back in the garage is still working very hard and we’re all just preparing and looking forward to similar results this Sunday. **”** With a smirk she ended her answer. Her response oozed confidence, yet it was the exact opposite to how she felt, her difficulties this morning still gnawing at the back of her mind.

Cadence thought she was in the clear for at least a few minutes, but it seemed the room wasn’t finished. **“** Going off the previous question, I was wondering if the other drivers wanted to express their thoughts on Cadence and her performance in Melbourne, possibly offer some advice to the rookie? **”** A reporter asked from the back and Cadence was glad she’d taken time to put on foundation as she felt her cheeks heat up. This should be good.

**“** Who? **”** Daniel spoke up and there was a split second of silence before the room erupted with laughter, Cadence burying her head into her hands. Of course he’d pull that kind of shit. With the room quieting down, Cadence thought it was a good time to sit up again, only to feel a hand beginning to ruffle up her hair. **“** Hey, hey, hey! **”** Cadence protested, pushing away from Daniel only to collide with Charles on the other side of her. Seemingly forgetting that he was there, she began profusely apologizing to the Ferrari driver while the room went through another bout of laugh. Luckily, Charles seemed to be in a better mood, just laughing along and waving Cade off, telling her that she was alright.

**“** No, but from the few times we’ve gotten to chat, she seems like a lovely girl. Definitely reminds me a bit of my own sister. Now, as her competitor, it’s a bit annoying to see how well she’s done already, especially knowing how difficult some of our rookie seasons had gone, but as a fan of the sport, it’s an exciting thing to witness. **”** Cadence couldn’t hold back a smile, and she shared a grateful look with the Australian. The rest of the comments went along similarly for the most part. Valtteri brought up only just having gotten to properly meet a few minutes prior. Charles commented on a few times they’d raced each other growing up, saying that it was nice to have yet another familiar face on grid. But it was Max who was the one to step up and confront the elephant in the room. **“** I think Red Bull made the right decision when signing her to Alphatauri. She’s a talented drive and I know some teams would have passed her up simply because of her gender. It would have been a shame if Red Bull had done the same. **”** His statement had said so much despite how quickly it had been said, and Cadence couldn’t help but feel prideful. She’d have to make sure to thank Max later. **“** Cadence, any reaction to hearing this? **”** The moderator asked, and she couldn’t help but let her smile grow. “It’s nice to feel welcomed onto the grid and you don’t really get that all the time. Just very grateful.”

With that, Cadence was left alone for the majority of the rest of the press conference, adding comments here and there when prompted but nothing too substantial. The crash between Max and Charles was touched on, and while the reporters tried to play up the tension, which may have still been there, it wasn’t as extreme as they were making it out to be. The two drivers made some very _PR friendly_ statements before sharing a few jokes. Everything in the end felt better- that was until Cadence got asked the last question of the conference.

**“** Final question for Miss. Easton, **”** Cadence, while confused by the use of the title, smiled to the man who had spoken up, **“** There hasn’t been a woman driving in Formula One since 1992. In the past, many have said that it is because women can’t compete on the same level as men. What are your thoughts on this? How are you handling the pressure of being the only female on grid? **”**

Cadence froze, a chill running through her body as she immediately broke out into a cold sweat. Oh, how she _really_ didn’t want to answer this question. Instead she'd much rather flip the man the bird and walked out right then and there. But that wasn't a realist option so she had to force herself to sit still in her seat and answer the question as politely as she could no matter how uncomfortable she was. The problem wasn't that she didn't know how to answer the question; lord knows she's answered it several times before. She just wasn't expecting it to be asked, let alone framed so poorly. There was also a lot of pressure for her to answer the question as cleanly as possible or else the media would rip her apart. That wasn’t something she could afford, not for her team and especially not for herself.

**“** Miss. Easton is my mother, so calling me Cade or Cadence is quite alright, I promise. **”** Her words came out more tense than she’d meant them to and she forced a laugh to try and seem much more at ease than she truly felt. **“** But, to answer your question, I think that gender has very little to do with the imbalance; instead it’s really a problem rooted in stigma and cultural standards. I mean, if I couldn’t compete against men then I shouldn't have been able to finish P7 in Melbourne, right? **”** She wasn't doing herself or other women any favors by keeping her answer so simple because the issue was much more complex then that, but Cadence didn’t care about that right now. She just wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible so she actually breathe properly again. **“** My job is to race, and at the end of the day I don’t really care who’s in front of me, just whether I can get past them. **”**

There was an awkward feeling left in the room, but luckily no one had anything left to add. Cadence didn’t wait for the moderator to officially end the press conference before she was already up out of her seat, ripping her microphone off and swiftly exiting the room. She was faintly aware of her name being called as she stormed out into the hallway, probably Tayla, but she didn’t pay it any attention. Right now she wanted to be left alone and seeing a bathroom pop into her view she decided she had found her momentary escape.

Shoving her way in, she was lucky enough to find the single stall bathroom empty, and quickly she locked the door behind her. Heading to the sink, she turned on the tap and began splashing cold water onto her neck and arms in an attempt to calm herself. A sudden bang on the door meant someone had just tried to push their way in and the knocking that followed meant that that someone was looking for her. **“** Cadence, you in there? **”** Sure enough it was Tayla, and with a sigh, Cade turned off the sink, leaning heavily against it. **“** Yeah, just give me a minute. **”** She cursed herself as she felt her voice break. She sounded like she was about to cry, but even with the pull at the back of her throat Cadence wasn't about to give in.

Looking up to the mirror, Cadence stared directly into her dull brown eyes. She looked tired, not just physically but mentally. The day had worn slowly on her, first with the car and now with the press conference. She hoped the afternoon didn’t carry the same disappointment, but at the moment her hopes weren’t too high. 

Despite previously thinking alone time was what she wanted, Cadence soon realized that what she _needed_ was the exact opposite; she needed a friend. The only thing was she really didn't have any friends, at least none that were with her. She was still getting to know most of the crew, Pierre and her were at still at this point just teammates and she still had yet to reconnect with the likes of Lando, George and the others. The closest person she had with her was Evan, but even he was far from what she needed right now. She needed someone who knew her inside and out, who she knew wouldn't pass judgment on her when she vented about her problems, no matter how dumb or minute they seemed. She needed someone who she knew she could trust and that liked her for her, not someone who just pretended so just for appearances.

She really needed a friend.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, i would just like to say, that ending was NOT supposed to sound so sad. besides a friend, cadence could really use a hug right now too. you may think that this chapter was a bit dramatic, but just you wait.  
> anyways, we stan feminist icon max verstappen. i could have easily made him have an asshole of a answer, but i hate villainizing the drivers. seems like a cope out in my opinion.
> 
> quick question for you all: which driver would you like to see cadence interact with more in future chapters, whether it be someone she's already chatted with or someone she has yet to be seen talking to? any you know what, it doesn't even have to be a driver it could literally be anyone! while i'm tempted to make daniel and cade into bff's, that'd end up feeling like i'm beating a dead horse and i'd hate to bore you all.


	5. sunday - sakhir, bahrain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I wanna be just like you when I grow up.” The girl spoke up with some encouragement from her mother. Cadence immediately felt her heart melt, and she couldn't hold back the audible 'aww' that escaped from her mouth. “You can do anything just as long as you put your mind to it. Even if someone tries to tell you that you can’t, you just go out there and prove them wrong, yeah?” With a smile and a nod from Anita, Cadence was confident the little girl had understood her.

Warmth filtered through the shaded windows, settling over Cadence’s relaxed body like a thick blanket. She was sitting crisscrossed, hands limply resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed, her breathing measured: in through the nose, out through the mouth. Cadence was the picture of pure peace and serenity. And yet pictures can be so deceiving. **“** Stop it. **”** The sudden sound of Mauri’s scolding voice made Cade jump. Looking over she was surprised to find that her trainer had barely moved a muscle. **“** I can hear you thinking from all the way over here. **”** Mauri continued and Cadence sighed.

**“** Are we done yet? **”** Cadence asked, trying once more to settle into a comfortable position. Mauri had told her to clear her mind, to think of nothing, but how does someone think of _nothing_? Cadence found the task impossible as her mind continued to cycle through thoughts of Thursday’s press conference, Saturday’s less than pleasing qualifying and to the race that was only a few hours ahead. To think of nothing at a time like that was impossible.

Along with meditation, Mauri had forced Cadence to add yoga into her workout routine. Neither activity was appealing, but after her first session of yoga, Cadence realized there was more to it than previously thought as she’d felt muscles being stretched that she didn’t even know existed. It was all in an attempt to help deal with Cade’s stress, or at least that’s what Mauri had told her. Cadence didn’t want to admit she was stressed, but it seemed like everyone around her could sense it.

**“** You literally asked me the same thing five minutes ago. **”** Mauri spoke through gritted teeth. A few moments of silence later she finally relaxed out of her seated posture and slowly began to stretch, giving in to Cade’s complaining. **“** Fine, but that means we’re picking this up after you finish tonight. **”** The trainer sighed with annoyance, glaring at Cadence. The young driver just smiled with success, following suit and waking up her limbs that had previously fallen asleep.

**“** And you’re not skipping out on it. I’ll make sure everyone knows, even Lucas. **”** Mauri scolded, finally getting up from the floor and rolling up her yoga mat. **“** Yes, _mother_. **”** Cade responded sarcastically, once more copying what her trainer did and folding up her own mat. The two quickly gathered their things before exiting out of the hotel’s private gym, Cadence giving a wave and small ‘thank you’ to the desk worker as they left. **“** You should be taking this more seriously, you know. **”** Mauri warned, side eyeing the younger woman. **“** I’d take it seriously if it actually worked. **”** Cade replied with a huff.

**“** The only reason why it’s not working is because you’re not letting it. Meditation is meant to clear your mind, help you become more in-tune with your body, more mindful, and calmer; more stable. **”** Mauri explained, pushing the 'up' button as the two came to a stop in front of the elevator. **“** And that means you need to stop thinking about racing. **”**

**“** It’s race day Mauri and you expect me to _not_ think about the one thing I’m supposed to do today? **”** Cade responded with a genuinely dumbfounded look. Mauri gave a disapproving look before turning her attention back to the elevator, the pair moving aside to let a few people exit before walking in themselves. **“** Yes, I do. **”** Mauri replied, pressing the button for the 7th floor, the floor that Cadence’s room was on. **“** You need to learn how to separate yourself from your work or else you’re gonna end up burning yourself out. It’s a miracle you haven’t done so already. **”** Cadence wanted to protest some more, but she knew that Mauri was making a good point.

**“** Do you have any hobbies? **”** Mauri asked as the elevator slowed to a halt, the pair stepping out. As a little kid Cade had plenty of hobbies, all ranging from playing piano to painting and drawing after school and even to dance every Tuesday and Thursday. But after her father started entering her into races, all that seemed to disappear. Cadence couldn't remember the last time she'd played a piano let alone touched one.

**“** I’m guessing that’s a no? **”** Mara asked, a sad smile on her face as she looked down at Cade. The two were now stopped in front of Cade’s room, the young woman digging in her pocket for her keycard. **“** I don’t know, I just- I don’t have time. It might sound cliche but all I do is live and breath racing. I don’t have time for anything else. **”** Cadence admitted, finally pulling out her key and swiping herself in. **“** Well you need to start making time for yourself, you deserve that. **”** At that moment Cadence wasn’t sure whether Mauri was talking to her as her trainer or as her friend, but either way it brought a smile to her face. With that, the two parted ways, Mauri leaving Cadence to shower and get ready and to ponder on the conversation the two had just shared.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

»»————- ✦ ————-««

Sure, racing had its ups and downs, but the one thing that Cadence would never grow tired of were the kids.

**“** Miss. Cadence, can you please sign my hat? **”** A little girl’s voice caught Cade’s attention and immediately she locked eyes with the small brunette and smiled. Crouching down to the little girl’s level, she gently took the AlphaTauri hat from her small hands. **“** What’s your name? **”** Cade asked, pausing for a moment before she wrote anything down. She knew this was supposed to be a quick event to meet with the kids and sign their things, but Cadence couldn’t help but take her time. They were just so darn cute.

**“** Anita. **”** The girl responded quietly and somehow Cade’s smile grew even wider. **“** Anita, it’s very nice to meet you. **”** She said, beginning to carefully write out the girl’s name, checking for spelling with the girl’s mother who stood close by.

 **“** I wanna be just like you when I grow up. **”** The girl spoke up with some encouragement from her mother. Cadence immediately felt her heart melt, and she couldn't hold back the audible _'aww'_ that escaped from her mouth. **“** You can do anything just as long as you put your mind to it. Even if someone tries to tell you that you can’t, you just go out there and prove them wrong, yeah? **”** With a smile and a nod from Anita, Cadence was confident the little girl had understood her. Finally, she figured out what she was going to write on the hat. _‘I believe in you’_ followed by her sloppy signature was perfect and when finished, Cadence fit the cap onto the girl's head before moving onto the next child, carrying on the light conversation with all the kids.

**“** Alright, Cadence, we need to get moving. **”** Tayla called out only a few moments later, ripping her attention from the kids. Cade realized that the other drivers were already making their way out onto the track for the drivers parade. Reluctantly, she said goodbye to the children, even allowing some hugs here and there before being ushered out into the sea of reporters. With a few comments here and there to appease the media, Cadence finally made her way onto the back of the truck.

**“** Jesus christ, kid, you’re holding us up! **”** Daniel yelled out just as Cade had climbed on and she resisted the urge to flip off the Australian. Instead she just rolled her eyes, ignoring the few laughs he got from the others before joining up with him, George and Alex. **“** Those kids are worth being late for, they’re just too cute. **”** Cade gushed, bracing herself against the railing as the truck began to move. She sent a wave to the crowd as they began the slow drive around the track, the weather a bit windy but still pleasant. The group of four carried on a light conversation after that, Cadence not too invested in it as she wasn’t much interested in the topic. Something about football, the European kind.

**“** I hope you boys don’t mind if I steal Cadence away for a quick minute. **”** And there was Rosanna to the rescue. She and her cameraman were bouncing around from driver to driver for quick interviews and Cade was delighted to see that she would be one of them. Interviews weren’t her favorite thing, but for Rosanna she’d make an exception. **“** Thank you, they’re talking about soccer and I’ve never been so lost in my life.” Cadence joked. **“** Not a fan of soccer? **”** Rosanna then asked, playing up the horrified expression on her face.

**“** No, it wasn’t really a big thing around me growing up. Now, american football, _that’s_ something I know a thing or two about. **”** Cade said, recalling many occasions growing up of being huddled in front of the TV watching the games with her father. She’d even attended a few when she still had lived with her father in Texas. Those had been some a the few good memories she still cherish of her father. Rosanna kept the conversation carefree for a bit longer, asking about Cadence’s favorite team, who were the Green Bay Packers, and even brought up how Cade was the reason for the late departure, teasing her, before turning the conversation back to racing.

**“** Now, this week seems to have been a bit of a bumpy ride for you. Your first press conference of the season looked to go sour towards the end. Do you care to comment on that? **”** She knew it was part of her job to pry, but Rosanna’s reassuring and apologetic smile told Cade that the question may not have originally been Rosanna’s idea.

**“** Uh, I mean it’s a pretty common question I get asked and sometimes you just get tired of having to repeat yourself over and over _and_ over again. **”** Cadence began, pausing to wave to another grandstand full of people as they passed by, cheers following. **“** I’m just here to do one thing and that’s to drive fast and be one of the best. **”** Cade finished with a smile. In hindsight she knew she could have reacted better at the press conference, hell there were plenty of headlines calling her out, but after a meeting with Evan, Tayla and her team Principal, Franz, they all decided the event was best handled swept under the rug and moved on from.

**“** We definitely saw a great performance from you in Melbourne after such a great first qualifying and race finish, but today you find yourself starting back in p16 after seemingly having a bit of difficulty in free practice. **”** Rosanna stated and Cade held back a cringe and just nodded sadly. While she had been promised a fix, when she’d gotten back in the car later that day after the press conference it was clear that not much had changed. By Saturday there wasn’t much Cadence could do with a car that lacked pace and she didn’t even make it out of Q1. She definitely was not happy with the result but neither was her team.

**“** Yeah, it definitely isn't where we wanted to be going into today, especially coming off of last week's performance, but I have faith in my team that we can pull off a better end result today and hopefully score some points. **”** Her answer sounded too optimistic for her own liking, but optimism was all she had right now. Luckily, Rosanna seemed satisfied with Cade's answer and with some closing remarks, thank you's and farewells, Rosanna moved on to the next driver interview which happened to be with Daniel.

**“** Don’t worry, I’ll keep you company at the back of the pack. **”** George spoke up, settling near her as to give room for Daniel and Rosanna to talk. Cade was surprised to find George making a joke about himself rather than a dig at Cade, but she appreciated it.

**“** You’ll have to catch up to me first, George-y. **”** She teased him, a genuine smile settling onto her features.

»»————- ✦ ————-««

To say that Cadence was disappointed with her finish would be an understatement. Cade was pissed.

Not only had Nicholas turned into her right at the beginning of the race at turn 1, but he had caused her a puncture on lap 34 when they had made contact yet again. She could have scored points, but instead she finished P12. _Behind_ Nicholas. **“** What the hell was that out there? **”** Cade asked as she approached Nick inside the weigh in room, trying her best to contain her emotions. She didn’t really care that she had just interrupted Nick and George’s conversation, she just wanted some answers.

**“** Cade. **”** Nick greeted his fellow rookie with a huff. From his un-bothered demeanor, it seemed he knew that this was coming. The two had plenty of differences back in F2 and he knew well about Cadence’s temper and just how easily he could get under the girl’s skin. They may have gotten on well enough off track, but on track was a completely different story. **“** There wasn’t anything I could do at turn 1. **”** He began arguing, to which Cade rolled her eyes, but she'd let that one go. The race had just begun and with limited room, Nicholas had touched tires with Cade. The touch had felt like a major one, but luckily for the two of them, they got out of there without any punctures or any notable damage.

**“** Then what about at turn 10 where you _turned into me_ and gave me a puncture? **”** Yeah, Cadence wasn’t gonna let that one go. She’d gone on the inside of Nicholas in an attempt to overtake the William’s driver when he’d turned into her, not giving her the room she thought she deserved and leaving the AlphaTauri driver with a puncture in her right rear. Satisfyingly enough, Nicholas didn’t get out unscathed either and received damage to his front wing and front left tire as well.

**“** Cadence, what do you want me to tell you? I literally did not see you, not to mention I was taking the _racing line_ whereas you just came in out of nowhere! **”** Nicholas countered back, his voice raising along with his words. Everyone else in the room began to take notice of the altercation as the two began spiting excuses and accusations back and forth at one another.

**"** Not only must you be blind but you must be stupid as well to not think I'd try and overtake you there! Or else you just don't want to admit that you hit me on purpose?! **"** Cade could tell her face was red with anger as she pointed a finger into Latifi's chest, not hard enough to push him back, but hard enough that he could feel it beneath his racing gear.

**"** You know what Cade, you're just a stuck up li- **"** Nicholas didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before the two driver's were finally separated with the help of George, Pierre, Sebastian and Daniel, a few marshal's also stepping in to help deescalate the situation. **"** Cadence _, tu dois te calmer_. Take it easy, okay _chérie_? **"** Pierre said as he pulled his teammate away, moving her away from Nicholas and out of the room. Cadence only understood about half of what Pierre had said to her, but she got the gist of what he meant. 

**"** You can let go of me, Pierre, I'm not going to go back. **"** Cade said as the two continued to walk away towards the AlphaTauri garage. Pierre seemed reluctant to do so, fearful that she may head back in to finish what she'd started, but he obliged and released his hold on the girl's wrist. Luckily the paddock seemed to be momentarily empty as everyone was still waiting for the podium ceremony to begin, so the two drivers could move relatively freely along without being stopped for a picture or autograph.

The rest of the walk went by silently for the two drivers, Pierre not knowing what to say to to try and comfort his teammate and Cade beginning to get lost in her thoughts. She was already regretting her decision to confront Nicholas. While she was still pissed about the puncture at turn 10, she knew Nicholas didn't deserve that much shit thrown his way. Cadence had basically just used him as her own personal punching bag, letting out all of her pent of anger and frustration from the weekend on him. And not only that, but she was taking a celebration away from Pierre as well. **"** I'm sorry. **"** Cadence suddenly said as she suddenly came to a stop outside the garage entrance.

 **"** I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to, Cade. **"** Pierre said, confusion crossing his features. **"** No, I do. **"** She began, rubbing her face tiredly, pushing back some stray hair that had fallen from her disheveled braids. **"** My temper tantrum is taking away from your finish. Hell, you should be celebrating with Charles right now too, not babysitting me! **"** Cadence argued, throwing her hands up in defeat. Not only had Pierre had a fantastic finish of P5 but Charles had redeemed himself from last years race and finished P1.

**"** You're not taking me away from anything, _chéri_. Trust me, there is going to be _plenty_ of celebration tonight, but I want to make sure you are okay first. **"** Pierre reassured his teammate, offering a smile. Cadence was reluctant to believe him, but she gave in, sharing a hug with the Frenchman before parting ways. She really appreciated that he was looking out for her.

**"** Go celebrate with the team, I'll join you later. **"** Cadence told him, her smile a bit forced. At this point she wasn't really sure if she wasn't lying to him or not. She wasn't really one to pass up a fun night out, but Cadence wanted nothing more that to curl up in bed and sulk for the next few hours. **"** I have some meditation I've gotta go do or else Mauri's going to kick my ass. **"** Cade finished, not quite believing that she'd just used _meditation_ as an excuse to be left alone. 

**"** Have fun with that. _À tout à l'heure_. **"** Pierre said his farewell before turning around and entering the garage, a round of applause and cheering following a few moments later. She knew she should have been in there celebrating with the team, lord knows she'd probably get called out for it later, but right now she just really needed to be left alone to process her thoughts and feeling. 

Entering the motor home, Cadence quickly found her way to her small designated 'office', thought it really wasn't much of an office and more of just a little seating area with a small table and chair in the corner. Locking the door behind her, Cade striped out of her race suit and down into just her thin pants and top. She probably would have pulled those off too as they were drenched in sweat, but she sadly didn't have any change of clothing with her, so the sweat filled gear would have to do for time being.

Settling into the familiar cross-legged position, Cade slowly began to run through the steps that Mauri had taken her though that morning, though this time something was different. Everything felt like it was clicking this time around, and there was no fighting to try and find a balance between her body and mind; it just happened and a feeling of serenity washed over Cadence. The tension she didn't even know she was holding in her neck was quickly released and Cadence began to feel lighter, all her frustrations fizzling and melting away. This was the best Cadence had felt race weekend, and the woman cracked a small, genuine smile at the thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone. for those of you who are really invested into this story, i'm sorry for the late update and i've got some disappointing news. don't worry, i'm not abandoning this story, but everything right now with covid-19 and transitioning to online schooling is really not working out for me. i've fallen behind in my studies and my mental health also isn't doing that great, so this story is gonna have to take a back seat until i can get a handle on my "new normal". i'll definitely continue planning out future chapters in my limited free time, but don't expect anything new to be released any time soon, or at least anything consistent.
> 
> with that being said, i hope you all are doing well! and here's just something to note from the chapter  
> \- i had to include some of rosanna into this, of course. she'll probably make a couple more appearances in future chapters cause i absolutely adore her.  
> \- i'm not sure whether i should be more indepth about race order and finishes, but i am keeping track of points and everything, so if you guys want information on that i can put that in. it's just a lot of work to decided who's going to be where and stuff. i just think sometimes it's not necessary to the story whereas other times it will be very relevant.  
> \- okay, you all knew when i said that nicholas and cade were rivals in f2 that i had to keep that rivalry going here as well. of course, nicholas seems like an absolute sweetheart in real life, but in here, him and cade are definitely going to continue to be far from friends on track.  
> \- i do not speak french, sometimes i feel like i can barely speak english, so if anything written does not make sense and YOU SPEAK FRENCH just let me know. if you're wondering what pierre says, the first translation is "Cadence, you need to calm down. Take it easy, okay darling?" of course, cherie is being used in the platonic way. the next translation is "Have fun with that. See you later." later referring to later in the day. EDIT: thank you shipintheisland for helping fix my french, i really appreciate it!  
> \- ALSO, i have a playlist for this song! here are the songs if you want to listen to them while you read!  
> 1\. everything i wanted - billie eilish  
> 2\. a palé - rosalía  
> 3\. ferrari - the neighbourhood  
> 4\. papaoutaí - stromae  
> 5\. nightmare - halsey  
> 6\. brazil - declan mckenna  
> 7\. daddy issues - the neighbourhood  
> 8\. bad girls - m.i.a.  
> 9\. the blackest day - lana del rey  
> 10\. drama - jesse  
> 11\. dead to me - kali uchis  
> 12\. new person, same old mistakes - tame impala

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!  
> liked it? hated it? either way, please leave your thoughts below.  
> wanna see something mentioned? suggest it and i'll try and add it in.


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